HAHN RIVALS TESTED THEMES AT FIRST DEBATE ANALYSTS SAY MOST WILL RELY ON CHARGES OF CORRUPTION.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

Much like a baseball team in spring training, the four major challengers to Mayor James Hahn in the election next March took stock Friday of their first public tests of themselves and their messages.

The televised hour-long debate Thursday from the Museum of Tolerance served as the setup for a series of other debates in coming months as challengers make their case for why Hahn should be denied a second term.

``You have to remember, the candidates are just scratching the surface at this point,'' political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said. ``They are sounding out themes and topics. They are testing one another. It is still a long way off until the election.''

In addition to three months until the March 8 election, the Christmas and New Year's holiday season starts in earnest within the next two weeks and it will be difficult for the candidates to get any voter attention.

But what was clear from the debate is that questions about corruption and other controversies surrounding the Hahn administration will take center stage.

All four challengers - Councilmen Bernard Parks and Antonio Villaraigosa, former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg and state Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys - hit hard at corruption.

At the heart of it is the allegations of a ``pay-to-play'' system at work, where companies believed they needed to make campaign contributions to win city business. Separate grand juries at the county and federal levels are investigating the accusations and charges of overbilling the city by the politically-connected public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard.

A testy Hahn, toward the end of the debate, grew tired of the attacks and told two of his opponents, Hertzberg and Villaraigosa, that they were in no position to lecture him.

Both men had raised millions of dollars from various interests when they served as speaker of the state Assembly, Hahn said.

``I thought it was effective when he turned that around,'' Jeffe said.

But Hahn should be prepared for more attacks, said Republican consultant Allan Hoffenblum, who is not working for a mayoral candidate.

``They can talk all they want about other issues, but the one that they have to use is these corruption charges,'' Hoffenblum said.

``He's a mayor seeking re-election and everything he's done will be an issue. What these challengers have to do is offer a reason to voters on why he should be fired from his job.''

Hahn campaign manager Bill Carrick said the campaign prepared for attacks, but he thought they would come later.

``It seems awfully early in the race to begin attacks,'' Carrick said. ``We had expected it, but not so early. And I'm not sure how effective it is at this point.

``First, I'm not sure many people are listening, and it comes across as inside baseball.''

Unless there is criminal action filed against Hahn or his top staff, analysts said people are more likely to be concerned about traffic and quality of life issues.

``I think the public is looking for someone who can articulate a vision and apply their practical experience to it,'' said Stan Moore, a political science professor at Pepperdine University.

Still, Hahn is the incumbent and enjoys a degree of credibility goes along with that - as well as his ability to dominate news coverage with events he holds.

``For most of the debate, Hahn looked very mayoral - aware of the issues, talking about programs he had pushed through,'' said Democratic consultant Richard Lichtenstein, who is not involved in any of the campaigns. ``He had the one outburst, but it showed his frustration at being under attack.''

Hertzberg made much of his proposal now to break up the Los Angeles Unified School District - although he had fought such efforts while he was in Sacramento.

``I thought there was a chance to make it work,'' Hertzberg said of his earlier opposition. ``You live and you learn. I thought we could make it work, but as I look at the district now, I realize we need to change it.''

Parks talked about the need to make the city more business friendly, saying, ``We are constantly driving businesses out of Los Angeles.''

Alarcon linked his past work - helping create The Plant at the General Motors site in Panorama City - with his efforts as a state official in studying poverty.

``We have a work force that doesn't have the skills to have the high-paying, high-benefit jobs. We need a leader who has got the strength to cut the red tape to allow development where we need it.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

WHAT'S NEXT

Three more debates among the major challengers for mayor have been scheduled before the March 8 primary election.

--The League of Conservation Voters will sponsor a Dec. 21 debate airing live on the city's public-access cable channel, Channel 35, and in delayed broadcasts on KABC (Channel 7) and KCET (Channel 28).

--The Alliance of Neighborhood Councils will sponsor debates on Feb. 7, airing on KCAL (Channel 9), and Feb. 28, which will air on KCBS (Channel 2).

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